Shadows of Glass (35 page)

Someone found me in the night because when I woke up there was a blanket over me.
I have no way of knowing who it was, but for some reason I think it was Pace. I can
only wonder where he spent the night without me, and if any one of our friends noticed.
I am stiff and sore from the unforgiving stone floor and damp, cold air, and I slowly
crawl to my feet and then stretch my cramped muscles. Jonah joins me, making me envious
of his ability to make it all look so easy and painless. I pick up the crossbow and
blanket. When I climb the stairs from the shelter I am greeted by clouds, which is
the perfect foil for my dreary mood.

When I come to the pony pen I find Sally and George there with the children and Rosalyn
busy milking a goat. Stella runs to me and throws her arms around my thighs.

“What’s that for?” I ask as I kneel and return her hug.

“For saving us,” she says.

“She overheard us talking about your exploits at breakfast,” Rosalyn explains.

I feel my blush heat my cheeks. I’m fairly certain my exploits of the night before
are not something Stella, or any of the other children, should know about.

“I like living outside,” Stella says. “And Mommy says we’re going to build a house
like we had in the cavern.”

Rosalyn shrugs.

“When you go back inside can you find my daddy and bring him outside?” Stella asks.
“I miss him.”

“I’ll do my best,” I say.

“Come on little one.” George lifts her up and puts her on Ghost’s back. “Time to exercise
the ponies.”

I pet Ghost’s nose. The littlest ones are on the ponies’ backs and the older ones
lead them by the halter. Stella wraps her hands in Ghost’s mane. “We take them out
to graze a bit,” George explains.

“Thank you for caring for them,” I say. I drop a kiss between Ghost’s milky eyes.
“Take care of her,” I whisper in his ear.

“They were still at the table when we left,” Rosalyn says. “Can you carry this for
me?” She hands me a bucket of milk.

“I will.” I take the bucket.

“Wren,” Rosalyn says, “thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“I’m not sure I’ve done anything right,” I say.

“You’ve given us hope,” Rosalyn says. “And that’s more than we’ve had for a long time.”
She hugs me and I return her embrace awkwardly since I am laden down with a crossbow,
a blanket, and a bucket of milk, which Jonah swats at in hopes of getting some. “Bless
you,” Rosalyn says as I leave.

“Wren!” Zan exclaims as I arrive at the encampment. “I was so worried about you.”

“I’m sorry,” I say as I lay the crossbow and blanket on another table. “I fell asleep
in the ruins we stayed in the first night.”

“I told you she was fine,” Alcide says, and I look at him curiously. Was he the one
who gave me the blanket?

The only empty chair is between Pace and Jane, with Levi across from it. I nervously
slide into it and keep my eyes on my plate. Pip pecks at some crumbs above my plate
that Jane feeds him.

“How is Adam?” I ask as Pace quietly passes me a dish.

“Doing exceptionally well,” Jane says. “We have him set up in the parlor and he’s
been asleep ever since. The surgery was quite painful, but he came through it like
a champ. We expect he’ll make a full recovery, given enough time and rest.”

“That is good to hear,” I say. “What about the rovers? Any sign of them?”

“Nothing,” Lyon says. “We have guards posted on the road and the bodies have been
disposed of. We recovered quite a few weapons from them that have been distributed
among your group, with the proper instruction provided for each. I really don’t expect
we’ll hear anything out of them for a few days. At best I think they might send an
envoy of some kind to investigate our threat potential, under the guise of negotiation
of course.”

As Lyon talks I realize once again how grateful I am for his presence. If the Hatfields
had not arrived when they did, God only knows what would have happened to us. We would
either have been killed by the rovers or captured. I can’t decide which one would
be worse.

Pace and I would still be together …
Even though he sits next to me, I can feel his distance and the wall he’s placed between
us.

Without a true leader we are scattered and ineffective. I had no idea what we were
getting into when I started this journey, and I see now the mistakes that were made
by all of us. We could have worked together better; I should have told my grandfather
everything and sought his counsel. I thought I had the answers, but it turned out
I didn’t and because of that we all could have died. But that doesn’t mean I think
my father’s way was right. There has to be some middle ground somewhere, a place that
will help us all survive and build a better world for everyone, not just the royals
and not just the shiners, everyone, including the people in between. I believe Lyon,
with his experience, can help us find that way, if everyone is willing to listen.

“We need to take advantage of the lull to investigate the dome,” Lyon continues. “Before
I speak with Sir Meredith I want to have a concept of what things are really like
inside there now, since the disasters you have mentioned. It would help your position
immensely if we can catch him off guard, and the best way to do that is to let him
know that we know how dire his situation actually is.”

“What if the situation inside isn’t as dire as we believe?” James asks.

“Smoke is still pouring out and there are bodies staked outside. I would say the situation
is extremely dire,” Lyon says. “We will go at dusk, which will give you all time to
prepare,” Lyon continues. “For now you can practice by going off the cliff. When it’s
time to go into the dome, we will take the Quest up and we can launch from there.
We have four gliders. Zan and Levi will each pilot one with Wren riding tandem with
Levi and Pace with Zan to balance out the weight. I will take the third one and James
will be our fourth pilot. From what I’ve seen of James this morning, I am certain
he will have no problem piloting on his own.”

“It’s just like flying over the pit,” James says.

“With the same chance of dying a tragic death,” Alcide adds.

“It’s perfectly safe,” Zan says. “And loads of fun.”

“I’m just wondering how you convinced the first guy to try it,” Alcide says. “Did
someone say put these on and go jump off a cliff?” Everyone laughs at Alcide’s comment.

“We were showing James how they worked this morning,” Levi explains. It’s the first
time he’s spoken since I arrived. “So we’ve pretty much spent the morning jumping
off the cliff.”

“He caught on to it a lot quicker than I did,” Pace adds, and I realize that the two
of them had spent the morning together while I slept. I cannot help but wonder if
they talked about me.

“You flew the gliders?” I ask Pace.

“I tried to fly one on my own,” Pace confesses. “It didn’t go well. Thank goodness
for Zan. We were strapped into that thing together.”

I steal a look at Zan, who grins widely. Is Pace trying to make me jealous? And him
wanting me to be jealous means he still wants to be with me, doesn’t it? Or is my
ego merely getting out of control like everything else in my life?

“Wren, we need to get you used to it so there are no surprises later on,” Lyon said.
“You’re not afraid of heights are you?”

“No sir,” I say. “I’m used to being up high.” There is no need to tell him that I’m
terrified of falling. I’ve gone too far to stop now. “I spent a lot of time on the
rooftops.”

“Which is why we’ve chosen you and Pace to go in. You know the streets best, and combined
with your and James’s knowledge of the earth beneath, you should be able to find a
route out for any of those inside who want to escape.”

“Shouldn’t we tell them what’s out here first?” I say. “Shouldn’t we give them a choice?”

“They are your friends, Wren. What do you think?” Lyon asks.

“I think they should have a choice.”

Lyon smiles at me, and for some reason I think he’s proud of the conclusion I’ve come
to. “Exactly. And that is why we’re going into the dome.”

*   *   *

Standing on the edge of the cliff is much different than standing on the edge of the
chasm beneath the dome. The chasm is deep and dark, bottomless. It is full of blackness
and the unknown. The cliff only shows the light and the never-ending horizon. The
cliff doesn’t scare me like the chasm does. Or maybe it’s just that I know Levi will
keep me from falling.

The wings that we wear now have a bar attached to them. The first time I saw Levi
and Zan fly it seemed as if the wings were directly on their backs. Now I see that
it is more complex than that. There is a set of harnesses and a bar for turning.

“We have to run as one,” Levi instructs. He stands behind me with his arms on either
side of the bar. “You just have to hold on. You won’t fall because of the harness.
Let me control it and make sure you do what I say.”

I nod, too excited and scared to speak. Zan gave me leathers to wear, explaining that
they make the body more streamlined and keep you warm against the colder air we will
find higher up. My hair is stuffed inside a leather cap and I wear my goggles. James
and Pace are similarly dressed.

“Watch what James does,” Levi says. “It’s like he was born to fly.”

James stands to the left side of us. Zan is doing a final check of his harness. Pace
is beyond, watching all of us. There is no need for him to train anymore. Since he’s
not flying on his own he learned all he needed to know this morning. I feel the wind
blowing in from the ocean and wonder if it is enough to keep us aloft.

James grins at me and takes off at a run, jumping off the cliff just as he did when
he flew over the chasm. He falls and then is carried upward by the wind. He lets out
a whoop and sails out over the ocean, turning back and forth in lazy circles until
he gently coasts down to the beach below. When he lands he looks up at us and waves
before taking off his harness and folding the wings into an easy size to carry back
up the cliff.

“See how easy it is?” Levi asks. “Are you ready?” Once more I nod. “On my count take
off running, starting with your right foot. Don’t stop when we get to the cliff. I
know you’ll want to, but don’t. You’re going to have to fight the urge.”

“I will.”

“You can do it, Wren,” Pace says encouragingly. I look at him and see nothing but
concern on his face.

“One. Two. Three.” Levi completes his countdown and I take off. I feel his body in
step with mine. “Don’t stop!” The edge of the cliff is right before us and I hold
my breath as I step into space. “Stretch out your body like you’re reaching forward.”

It’s all about trust. That’s all I can do as I feel my body falling to the ground.
“I got you,” Levi says. I reach out and imagine myself flying and suddenly I am. I
feel the jerk as the wind catches the wings and suddenly we are soaring out over the
waves. I look at the surface of the water below me and catch the reflection of Levi
and I gliding above. A flash of yellow catches my eye and I see Pip, rushing to join
us. He flies in front of us as Levi begins the turns, back and forth, back and forth
until I see the ground slowly approaching. Pip leaves us, soaring upward on the wind
to return to Pace.

“Try to bend your knees when we land,” Levi says.

The ground moves up as we float down, and, without me knowing it, my legs drift down
until I am hanging below the wings. Then we touch the ground with the wings sheltering
us from those above. I hear a whoop from Zan and Pace and another one from James,
who is still climbing back up the cliff.

“What do you think?” Levi’s words rumble against my ear and I turn to look at him
with excitement until I realize that we are in the exact same position that we were
last night. I will not kiss him. Not with Pace watching.

“I think it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done,” I say and quickly turn away.
My hands shake as I unbuckle the harness and step away from beneath the wings.

“It could always be like this, Wren,” Levi says. “If you want it to be.” He steps
out of his harness and folds the wings. I look up the cliff face and watch Pip disappear
over its edge, back to the safety of Pace.

“That’s what I am trying to decide, Levi,” I say. “What it is exactly that I want.”

“There’s an entire world out there waiting on you,” he says. “I’d love to show it
to you.”

“I know,” I say, “but first there are some things I must do.”

“I realize that,” he replies. “And I will help you until you’ve seen it through.”

“That might take a long time,” I say.

“I got nowhere else to be at the moment.” He extends his hand in the direction of
the trail and I begin the long trek back up. I realize as we climb that, like everything
else in this new world, the moments of excitement are few and the work is long. We
only have time for the one flight. There is much to be done before we can go back
into the dome.

*   *   *

The clouds grow heavier and the wind sharper as the day progresses, with the same
heavy threat from the night we climbed the cliff face. A storm is brewing off the
coast. I stand on the balcony of the Quest with Pace and James, waiting for the lines
to be dropped. Lyon’s plan is for the Quest to drop us above the dome and then we
will coast down with the gliders. On the horizon the sun sinks from beneath the clouds
and into the water in a dim replica of the sunset we saw on our first night out of
the dome.

It gifts me with a sense of foreboding that is as heavy as the clouds.

Lyon has done everything possible to insure the safety of those left on the ground.
All the guards are to remain on the ground and Alcide, Peter, Jon, and George are
now armed as well with the weapons taken from the rovers, whose bodies I learned had
been weighted and dumped far out to sea. Stone was also put into the sea, but with
a proper ceremony to note his passing. It was the same way things were done in the
before time, Zan explained as we dressed in leathers. Except now the sailors sailed
the skies instead of the oceans.